Down, but not out: Miami fights back

Tom Withers/AP Sports Writer
The Associated Press

MIAMI, FL June 15, 2006 12:47 am

— Favoring a stiff left knee, Dwyane Wade hobbled to the yellow maintenance cart and slipped onto its flatbed. He propped himself up against the front seat and settled back for the short ride to the Heat’s locker room.
“Can I drive?” Wade asked. “I always wanted to drive one of these things.”
Sorry, not today, he was told.
Wade’s request will have to wait.
Right now, the only significant driving the Heat want to see from their flashy guard is toward the basket.
One day after salvaging Miami’s season with a 42-point, 13-rebound performance in Game 3 of the NBA finals against the Dallas Mavericks, Wade spent Wednesday getting treatment on his aching left knee, which he injured when teammate Shaquille O’Neal accidentally fell into his leg.
“I was a little nervous about it this morning,” Wade said, gingerly running his fingers across the black tights over his knee. “But I’m going to try and go. Hopefully I can be 100 percent.”
Hope isn’t enough in these parts. Considering the stakes in Game 4, prayer may be required of the Heat faithful.
Although he wasn’t at full speed late in Tuesday’s game, Wade brought his team back from the edge of almost certain extinction by scoring 15 points — 12 over the final 6:34 — in the fourth quarter to rally Miami from a 13-point hole and pull the Heat within 2-1 in the best-of-seven series.